Noah, a young queer man, captures the attention of Tom, a closeted high-profile AFL player nearing the end of his career. Delving into the hyper-masculinity of sport, BECOME THE ONE asks what happens to such clandestine relationships when good intentions and patience aren’t enough anymore.

A mainstage love story featuring vibrant queer characters at its heart, it is less interested in exploring why an AFL footballer is yet to come out, and more concerned with why same-sex partners of AFL players (who statistically have to exist) continue to accept it.

What if the partner, not the athlete, became the driving force behind dismantling the last bastion of heteronormative masculinity in Australian sport? What might they – and that journey – look like?

This is a celebration of difference, a call to bravery, and an examination of what it takes to do the right thing – as a lover, as a high profile sport star, as a human being – to BECOME THE ONE.

This work was recently selected as the winner of the 2018 Playtime Stage Readings by Gasworks Arts Park as part of the 2018 Midsumma Festival.

It will now be supported by Gasworks Arts Park and Lab Kelpie for presentation at the 2019 Midsumma Festival.

This project’s development and premiere season have been supported by Creative Victoria, a Jacky Winter Gardens Residency and the Victorian Government through the Pride Events and Festivals Fund.

Noah, a young queer man, captures the attention of Tom, a closeted high-profile AFL player nearing the end of his career. Delving into the hyper-masculinity of sport, BECOME THE ONE asks what happens to such clandestine relationships when good intentions and patience aren’t enough anymore.

A mainstage love story featuring vibrant queer characters at its heart, it is less interested in exploring why an AFL footballer is yet to come out, and more concerned with why same-sex partners of AFL players (who statistically have to exist) continue to accept it.

What if the partner, not the athlete, became the driving force behind dismantling the last bastion of heteronormative masculinity in Australian sport? What might they – and that journey – look like?

This is a celebration of difference, a call to bravery, and an examination of what it takes to do the right thing – as a lover, as a high profile sport star, as a human being – to BECOME THE ONE.

This work was recently selected as the winner of the 2018 Playtime Stage Readings by Gasworks Arts Park as part of the 2018 Midsumma Festival.

It will now be supported by Gasworks Arts Park and Lab Kelpie for presentation at the 2019 Midsumma Festival.

This project’s development and premiere season have been supported by Creative Victoria, a Jacky Winter Gardens Residency and the Victorian Government through the Pride Events and Festivals Fund.